broken record in hollywood. how can you rein these kids in? >> there is more frigid weather down the road. i am ari melber. how long will it last? we don't forecast out that far. >> all of that plus weather transition. can we just chill? the age-old dilemma between men and women. i'm abby huntsman. sit possible to just be friends? science sets out to find the answer. >> if you watched nbc nightly news last night or msnbc at all today there was one man you couldn't miss, ari melber. that's because of his interview with eric holder. that in tv talk is the setup which ari couldn't say about himself, he is too humble. in tv talk, here is what we call

a throw. ari, tell us about your big interview. >> thank you. attorney general holder spoke yesterday at a court in virginia and invited me to come along. that's one of two federal programs like it across the country. instead of putting all that's convicted of federal misdemeanors in jail, this program focuses on rehabilitation in some cases. we also spoke about the doj's approach to wall street and war on drugs and attorney general's view of edward snowden and nsa surveillance. here it is. >> the president was at the justice department just last week outlining reforms to the nsa. we have reports of a new government watch jog report that says that the collection program was unlawful and it was a subversion of the patriot act law. and also, not very useful in discovering any terror plots. is that report, in your view, incorrect? is there anything more that needs to be done to rein in these programs? >> i have not seen the report but i will say that at least 15 judges, 35 occasions, they have

said the program itself is legal. that is one part of the question. it is legal and it is something -- i don't agree with. the program is legal. the question is, is the prime minister as useful as it can be? is it something that we ultimately immediate? those are the questions that the president has put to me to the director of national intelligence, jim clapper. we will be looking the next 90 days or so to make the determinations about the -- answer the questions that president t president said. just because we can do something, should we? >> also, in a new york interview the president was asked about potential deals of clemency for edward snowden which is some nsa officials said should be on the tab table. he said it is not a yes-no issue. does that mean a deal of some kind could be possible for mr. snowden? >> he is a person who is charged, will be charged with a variety of crimes. when he has -- legal

representation and if those lawyer want to talk about a resolution of the case, we would obviously engage in those conversations. >> but -- that means that it is -- you haven't ruled it out? >> clemency, a -- simple, you know, no-harm, no-foul. i think that would be going too far. but in the resolution of this maer, with an acceptance of responsibility, you know, we would always, you know, engage in those kinds of conversations. >> as the fact -- does the fact that the d.c. court did rule against the nsa make him more of a whistle blower potentially and in the eyes of the law or in your view? >> people have really gotten hung up on the whistle blowers, something else. from my perspective she a defendant. he is a person that we -- criminal charges against and i think that's it is most apt title. >> you heard the president's remarks on marijuana, month only about how it is used by

individuals and the risk but also seeming to welcome legalization efforts in states like colorado. you have already shifted enforcement policy. do you have to shift it more to harm on harmonize with his views here or what did you think of his remarks? >> no. the positions we are taking in terms of setting up eight priorities that would warrant federal intervention are consistent with what the president said. >> another criticism that is made of not only in this justice department but your predecessor, is that individual wall street executive misconduct doesn't often lead to jail time outside of the specifics of insider trading. and in addition to, as you know, there is discussion in the economic realm that some institutions are either too big to indict or too big to deal with in a criminal context. now you have been on the job even longer. those criticisms remain and your response to them?

>> there are no institutions that are too big to indict. there are no individuals who are in such high-level positions that they cannot be indicted criminally investigated and we have brought charges against thousands of people over the course of the last 4 1/2, almost 5 years. we brought significant cases against some of the largest financial institutions in the country. the last of which was the jpmorgan case which significantly did not include a resolution of the criminal investigation that is ongoing. and could result in charges of the institutional or individuals who are engaged or who are involved in the activities. we have ongoing investigations that i'm not at liberty to talk about that involve significant financial institutions and the focus of those investigations is not only on the insfitutions but of individuals as well. so i think that, you know, we are going to have to wait for us

to be finished with all of the things we want to do and then look and make an assessment of how well we did and the kinds of charges that we brought. i think as to early at this point. >> as you think on your legacy, however long you are in office, one of the longest -- ninth longest attorney general. >> is that right? >> that's right. >> i didn't know. okay. all right. >> do you think that when you look at the smart crime initiative and reforms we have been talking about and you presiding -- are presiding over natural drop in the total number of the prison population for first time in a generation, is part of your legacy moving from over-incarceration to rehabilitation and other approach tows social problems? >> yes. i would hope that one of the things that people look back on and say that we got right was to do things in a different way. not to be stuck in things that are traditional but perhaps ultimately don't work. to break the cycle, not to

reflexively say we were simply tough on crime. but as we -- use the phrase to be smart on crime. that necessarily men's in engaging in pref pension activities and re-entry activities. and it ultimately keeps the nation safer and at a smaller cost. and it is also the -- morally the right thing to do to have a system, criminal justice system, perceived as being fair and -- acts in proportionate ways. we have, you know, we -- heard little in the with on drugs and in going too far to some of the sentences that the time mandated and i think we have a moment in time where congress, as well as those of news the executive branch, think that it is time to pull back just a bit. so i think that -- i hope that will be a part of my leg. >> i do you feel you are able to do more of that because of a change in the politics of fear in this country? >> politics of? >> yeah, people being afraid of

crime, regardless of the data, the punishment above all other remedy. >> i think -- there is a growing recognition in -- i think in the american people that different approaches or -- ought to be tried. you know, this mass incarceration happens with a cost. if you look at the way that it impacts certain communities and -- let's be honest about this, communities of color. where young men who should be the future of these communities, are taken out, labeled, then have -- inabilities to obtain good employment to be the kinds of providiveivivivive -- people. they have to be accountable. we immediate to have proportionate penalties and -- the ability for recognition that you can make a mistake, rehabilitate yourself and then come back and be a productive

citizen. those are the kinds of policies that i'm trying to advance that this administration is trying to advance. >> great stuff, ari. kudos. in terms of the substance i think we all around this table agree with the attorney general about moving away from mass incarcerati incarceration, about being smart on crime rather than just tough on crime. do you thai politically we are at a place where realistically the attorney general's goals could be realized? >> i do. one of the things he did yesterday was endorse a bill that has support from republicans and democrats, mike lee, and other democrats on fair sentencing. and -- attending these proceedings was pretty amazing yesterday like i mentioned, this was the second court voted to veterans substance abuse in the country. what you saw veterans when came back to this country after serving, okay. have substance abuse problems and reached a fork in the road of jail or rehabilitation. and here yesterday we were seeing those who took the rehab route because of the smart crime

policies and succeeded. the idea that we can do that for more people who have a private problem and not necessarily a violent problem, i think it is important. >> i love what he said about the proportionate penalties. >> absolutely. fantastic interview. that's why i'm glad you are here to do that, talk to him lawyer to lawyer. and i'm glad to hear the setting of the thing, talking about rehab for some of the pokes. that was president nixon's original conception of the war on drugs. there would be a lot of rehab component. when president reagan came in, then it became all mass incarceration. that has not worked to the standpoint that even republicans, mike lee, rand paul, they are saying this is not sustainable economically and have to have a new tactic. >> kudos. you hit on, i think a lot of the themes we have been talking about as a nation without fully understanding where eric holder stands on some of the issues or the administration, whether it is snowden as a whistle blower or the role of the nsa or how we should view edward snowden. you spent time off-camera with eric holder. give us a sense of your interaction with him. >> it was interesting.

first of all, he was very warm and jovial. some of that does not come through as we get into the back and forth. we talked about the president's state of the union. i was asking when smart-on crime would come up. he said he wished he knew. senior officials don't always know what's in there. he mentioned watching certain shows and including msnbc and he has seen "the cycle" which was nice of him to say. he also joked about the tiny room we were in which was in this courthouse. we had a small room. what's going to go on in here? like it was a mall tucked away window in the room. just an interview. >> and a good one it was. >> i love the moment about the politics of fear. that's a big reason why we are having a turn in the country. up next, more of a ri's exclusive interview. political plim indications. all in a and "the cycle" is rolling on.

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we are back now with more of my exclusive sitdown with u.s. attorney eric older. we talked about the new bipartisan plan to restore the voting rights act and whether it goes far enough. >> looking at voting rights, an area you led the justice department, not only to patrol and enforce the right on vote but to be flexible after the supreme court decision last year who shifted resources and said you will make sure people have the right to vote and now you are working with members of congress on and both parties, does that voting rights act

amendment do what we need while also avoiding what used to be your purview which is justice department objections in the voter i.d. context which is you said yourself so important? >> i think the statute that has been introduced in a long way to dealing with the -- that wrongly decided the shelby case. there are things i think that need to be looked at in connection with this vote act. chief among them is this whole notion of this photo i.d. requirement. and if we can show that photo i.d. efforts are done inappropriately and for improper reasons, i think that they ought to be the basis for federal intervention and so i'm concerned that that appears at least for now not to be a part of the scheme. >> you would like this bill that's being sponsored by congressman sent sent brenter and john lewis to include

justice department voter i.d. objections in its formula for supervision? >> something i think we would like to talk about. and -- and have a consideration made as to whether or not that ought to be included and come up with language that would be appropriate. people have to understand that we are not opposed to photo identification in a vacuum. but when it is used in -- certain ways to disenfranchise, particular groups of people, whether by racial designation, ethnic origin, or for partisan reasons, that from my perspective is problematic. i would like to work with members of congress to make this bill as strong as we possibly can make. >> it when some republicans say that voter identification is for election integrity and thus is different than the history of racial discrimination we have seen in this country, they may be of good faith. you think they are wrong. >> yes. there are some, i think, who are

coming from -- a good-faith perspective. i think many are using it for partisan advantage. the reality is that all of the studies show that this whole question of ballot integrity in-person voter fraud simply does not exist to the extent would warrant these kinds of measures. we had the commission of the president appointed just yesterday and they indicated this was not a significant -- not a significant problem. so i think this they have come up with a remedy in search of a problem and i think it is being used in too many instances to depress the vote of particular groups of people who are not supported of the party that is advancing these photo i.d. measures. >> for more on this possible voting rights deal all things washington, we are joined by norm orenstein. thanks for being here. you heard the attorney general there basically saying that this

bipartisan voting rights proposal this was good enough for john lewis doesn't actually go far enough for the attorney general because of the voter i.d. issue. what do you make of that? >> well, i think that -- even though this is a bipartisan measure, it is not even clear and it is -- good but diluted fashion that it will capture enough republican votes in the house and senate. but i think that holder is on to something here. frankly, i take it beyond the voter i.d. issue. what we have seen happening in north carolina, in texas, and other states, is they start with a voter i.d. question as the pretext based on the non-existent voter fraud and then go way beyond it in major league to completely curtail early voting, early registration of 16, 17-year-olds. a lot of things that are designed to block votes of minorities and others who they don't want to vote.

i would like to see this broaden out even beyond the voter i.d. issue if we can make it work. >> we get a good sense from that interview of how eric holder feels about republicans on the issue of voting rights when he makes the case some republicans don't have a good-faith objection to this. obviously pretty serious charge going from the attorney general. do you think that's fair? >> i think that there are many who really do believe that there is a problem with voter fraud in the country. if will is it is with absentee balloting but not voting at the polls. in both parties you have people who would like to keep those who are going to vote in a different way from voting but it has become clearer that this is a problem in states now where it is republicans who control the machinery who are stepping in and they have stepped in significantly more since the shelby county decision. i have to say i'm encouraged by the president's commission and when ben ginsburg joins with bob

bauer to say we immediate to do things that can enhance the voting experience rather than subtract from it, it tells you that this is not simply all a bunch of partisans moving in one direction. there are plenty that do. >> romney people onboard. >> we are honored to have you on the show. your 2012 book, "it is even worse than it looks." a huge impact on me and a lot of people. and you explain the game of obstruction and how it is working. you say that, you know, one party's deliberate intransigence causes damage to all the actors in the process and which means people go home and say congress can't get its act together which contributes to these sinking low approval rate things that congress has 9%, 8%, 7%. which means that that contributes to the conservative argument that government itself is the problem. they see and it get what they want on the other end. how do we get out of this game?

>> you know, one of the problems is this is no longer jon huntsman's republican party. it is not a party of where -- which is dominated by problem solvers. i'm concerned about it. you know, greg sergeant at "the washington post" had a really interesting post today. looking at public opinion data that shows that the party's positions now are dominated by tea party republicans but these are not positions that are shared by the rest of the republican party. so what we have is an insurgent radical force that's driving a party away from problem solving conservatism. and how we get back to something different, i think it is going to take a much more aggressive role on the part of a business community and others who are willing to put money in to counter the money coming from the radical insurgents. >> another thing that you have argued for and could have help combat the radicalization of the republican party is finding ways

to expand the electorates so you don't have thees treatments voting in primary elections and in particular but in general elections as well. what is the best way that we can expand the electorates so we have the broad middle also represented in our voting? >> i would like to see a much broader voting rights act even in the one we have seen introduced. you know, if i had my druthers would have the australian system of mandatory attendance at the polls. if you can't do that, let's do a national lottery or local lotteries where your lottery ticket is your vote stub. but i want to move the elections to the weekend and one other area that i would like to pursue now i think we need a fight for a constitutional amendment providing the right to vote. most americans do not understand that we do not have an explicit constitutional right to vote for all of us. it would be much harder for a supreme court to do a decision like shelby county or to do -- see voter i.d. laws go through.

if,ing in fact, they are violating that trite vote. >> if you define democracy as everyone allowed to vote we are a young democracy indeed and one that continues to the oversight and help. you are a great person to be on with us to discuss the attorney general's interview. thanks for your time. >> you guys do a great show. >> thanks. >> thank you. >> we are all fans of yours. >> appreciate that. that interview will be on msnbc.com. now we have a lot more to turn to. up next, we go from crime to misdemeanors. a lot of laughs about, yes, justin bieber last night. are there any lessons we can learn? we are goinging to spin on that next. >> he was arrested for drag racing in a rented lambourghini. >> drag racing, driving under the influence, resisting arrest. yeah. police charged bieber with impersonating a resident of florida. >> between the first and second picture they took his juice box

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a whiteout disaster leads o off the "news cycle." this is not far outside of chicago. lee people were killed and 28 others were hurt in massive 46-car pileup. blamed on a sudden band of blinding snow. one police officer described the scene as a war zone. more snow and bitter cold is expected straight into february here in the northeast. we have another shot of winter weather just in time for the weekend. a big break in the real-life heist that has become the stuff of legend and even inspired the movie "goodfellas." the $6 million in cash and jewels stolen from the luf tan did a car go hold at new york

k airport. vincent vinny assaro has been charged for his part in the heist. the break came back in 2011 when the fbi allegedly caught the now 78-year-old on tape complaining to an informant he never got his cut from the heist. >> justin bieber's next court date is bright and early on monday morning. but he will not have to personally be there and said his lawyers will answer to dui and other charges related to his arrest after he was pulled over for drag racing on miami beach. last might at the home where bieber was vacationing, his -- this can't be real. his fans held a vigil chanting his name, singing his songs? are you kidding? >> believe it. that's no surprise. >> is he sick? was he in trouble? month. he was arrested for criminal behavior. for multiple offenses and they are having a vigil like -- i mean, this is why -- he is not going to lose any fans because no matter what happens to him, even horrific criminal behavior,

deviant behavior, they are still like we are down with you, we don't care. and look, i don't think that this is the end of bieber. i'm not willing to go -- here's the end. he is spiraling out of control. he needs therapy and this and that. slow down. right? we have seen this happen to pop stars. they come back from this sort of behavior and a lot of people around him -- >> recently out of rehab. >> people around him on his payroll. there are also people in these outer circles who make a lot of money from the justice bieber business. at one point one of them will step in and go, okay, kid, come on. let's get back to the money-making business out of this. and not the sort of -- foolishness business. but this does not hurt his brand at all. >> i don't know that they always come back. look apartment lindsay lohan. i wouldn't call that coming back into the industry, at least not yet. i have a serious question. what pants he wear when he jumps on that car? >> okay. >> i know this is a serious situation. i can't see if they go down to his knees. >> you can find them in the

ladies' department. >> apparently. >> are we gist not hip? >> apparently gap kids sells those. i have been thinking about this. we can always say where are the parents in this situation? it is darned clear the parents are with him. every step of the way. we have heard from sources that the dad was with him all day leading up to the arrest. he told his police his mother gave him xanax. there were certain things i didn't do growing up because i knew i would be punished for it. i think that really tells a story here. he has no one telling him no. including his parents. they live off of his money. they live off of his fame. everyone around him lives off of his money and his fame. when people say this is just a kid being a kid, i disagree. it is a kid with no good influence in his life. >> let me say something. mom and dad, if you are watching, cover your ears for this portion. i mean, when i was 19 years old, i did things that were not, you know, totally toward and i had fabulous parents.

>> like what? like what? >> we can talk about that later. but -- i mean, part of the thing here, the drag racing, endangering others, obviously very serious. driving while drunk, if true, driving while having smoked marijuana, if true, all very, very serious. but not out ordinary for 19-year-old boys to be perfectly honest. the really different thing here is how it is playing out on such a larger scale because of who he is and the money he has access to and the fact he has all these people around him who are telling him how great he is and everything he does is -- >> that's the problem his mother is fairly young. very young for a boy his age. his father hasn't been part of his life for most of his life. he doesn't have a normal parental background like you are talking about. >> and i have a peeling -- >> i'm not willing to totally say, you know, it is the parents' fault. >> no, no. >> he needs to go to rehab. i don't know. >> doesn't necessarily have the support that other people had, you had or i had. >> if you were on the beach smoking pot with your dad he

wouldn't say this is great. he would probably say this shot something -- >> that's part of it. that's -- that's the problem. there is no one telling him no. there's no parental influence in his life. >> what did attorney general eric holder saw? >> it is a good question,, krys >> had you to table that. >> you mentioned this industrial entertainment complex that's going up around him. i'm reminded of a somewhat serious and definitely insightful observation by fifty cent. >> you know what i'm talking about. >> i really don't. >> you do listen to him. that's not a reach. he once said -- that -- >> we are tight. >> the history of entertainment is the creation of entertainers for the sake of entertainment and destruction of entertainers

for the sake of entertaining. and -- he knows something about that and anyone that's really blown up in that way has at least tasted that. the problematic desire from the public and definitely from the press and those folks who profit off of it, to not only profit off the rise but to profit off the mess and potential fall. there is a human being here who is setting examples and is a free person and can make his own mistakes. but there is a lot of money riding on these dramatic and potentially misdemeanor issues -- >> the folks that make money from his rise, record sales, those sort of people, concerts, they are not going to make money from the fall, tabloid, media. they may make money from the book. there is a lot of that person dies like a curt compakurt coba >> i'm saying in larger complex, outside of that concentric circle, there is a lot of money to be made offing the rise and fall. >> there is nothing better than ari melber and krystal ball.

talking about the beebs and abby's dancing. is this as low as he will fall? paul dominick says he has not hit bottom yet. i hope he cleans up his act and gets back on track. like us on the facebook page and follow us on this twitter thing. that will be big some day. maybe bieber needs military-style dis president clinton. patrick murphy salutes you next. [ susan ] ...as though he had never left.

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"big sarge" hanson, helping other veterans like him get back their a-game through cross-fit training. >> i started talking to the people from wounded warrior project and i was like you know what, we need to have a class. there are a lot of people that want to do tough mudder. they don't know how to train for it. they were like, would you lead the class? sure, i would lead the class. let's get that spir it from within back out. >> patrick joins us at the table now. thank you so much for coming in and being with us today. >> of course. >> starting with the documentary there, how important is it for these guys when they come home, guys and girls when they come home to have something like that to train and to have a group around them and collective goal, how important is that for their mental health n. >> it is so important because these men and women over 2.5 million of them go to iraq and afghanistan and come back home and that teamwork, that camaraderie isn't there in the community. getting them to gather, whether it is through team red, white and blue or cross fit, tough mudder competitions, wounded

warrior project, getting them active, to combat that anxiety and oftentimes depression, together as a team helps them go back and breaks down that civil military divide that's happening in this nation. >> congratulations on the show. what you are doing so wonderful and important for folks that come back home. this is -- near and dear to my heart. i have two brothers on the early stages of this and will go tout serve at some point and i asked them what their biggest concern is. it is ptsd. we are seeing the realities of 22 a day that commit suicide. you are obviously working hard to fight this to help people understand the realities around ptsd but what more needs to be done. >> you know, we need america to step up and the federal government passed the largest increase in veterans benefits in history but it is not something to say the federal government let them take care of it and we all have to join in and come together to help these young men and women. because -- we can't leave anyone behind. and as you mentioned that, 22 veterans committing suicide a day. it is getting worse. it is not getting better.

so we immediate to just make sure we are doing all that we can and i will tell you, you know, i'm not here to -- kiss his butt or anything but for this network, to make this investment, to do the only veteran oriented show and any news network is important because that will -- make a difference in the veterans' lives. >> we are lucky to have you do. >> it you mentioned you were a veteran politician. >> yes. >> but that is a lot more unusual, as you know, than it used to be in the '70s. 77%, vast majority of members of congress were veterans. that's fallen down to about 20%. that's a huge crash. does that matter? >> it matters great. when you have decisions whether you are going to send men and women into syria, iraq, afghanistan, you know, you immediate pokes who have skin in the game. that their sons or daughters are serving or they have served. oftentimes, like president kennedy, the cuban missile crisis, these veterans that come back are not the ones that are itching to get news other wars. they are the ones that -- who

are steadfast and say that no, america is the reluctant warrior. >> if we have more veterans in congress during the iraq run-up maybe we wouldn't have gone under that -- into that war because it was misguided and we wouldn't have lost 4400 soldiers. it is what it is. now we have to make sure that the congress, as you mentioned, it used to be over three-fourths of experience, now it is less than one in five, the fact is this. when they had to do a budget deal a month ago, where did they go to make the cuts? $6 billion in dpruts veterans. they promised them. so that's why we are making the effort on keeping your promise we are doing what's necessary. make sure congress does not turn its back on our heroes when they come back home. >> patrick murphy, such great stuff and i'm looking forward to watching. >> appreciate it. >> of course. up next, can men and women truly be just friends? what new research suggests about that age-old question. keep it here on "the cycle."

it is a story that plays out every day of boy meets a girl. they exchange numbers and get to know each other. then they find they end up in the friend zone. >> what the hell is the friend zone? >> when a girl decides you are her friend you are no longer a dating option. you become a complete non-sexual entity in her eyes, like a brother or lamb. >> can men and women truly be just friends or will there always be someone that wants

more? those questions sparked countless movies, shows. "american mind" looks for research for the answers. there is a lot to gain from opposite-sex relationships. despite the occasional awkward must. are you listening to this? it is great to have you here. >> we are just starting out. >> did you know, this is a very -- loaded question. growing up, i have always had guy friends, some of those didn't end up sowhelm. some of them i'm still friends with today because there is a mutual understanding that we are just friends. >> some of them fall in love with you? >> but if there is that mutual understanding and you do have a good relationship, can you ever actually be that close? >> or is there always that distance? >> no. you absolutely can be close. know that men and women can be friends. those relationships are treated with suspicion because a lot of people think that if one person has an you will tearious motive, meaning then want more, that the friendship is not pure. but the truth is there is no such thing as pure friendship.

that all relationships are complicated and -- a lot of people who start out attracted -- sexually attracted to their friends, that attraction fades over time and it is just something that adds to the spark and your feeling of self-worth if your friend is attracted to you. >> i think part of the problem with men and women being practice tonic friends comes from men's lack of emotional intelligence. when you get to that practice tonic intimacy then just as a man you feel close and you feel that intimacy and you just want more. you want to keep going and get even closer to her. "seinfeld" did a funny take of this a long time ago. >> funny thing happened and -- we couldn't be friends the way we are now. that would really be bad. >> devastating. >> because this is very good. >> and that would be good. >> that would be good, too. the idea is to xwing this and

the that. but this cannot be disturbed. >> i have equal play to that scene. generally it is the man that's saying, this friendship makes me want to go even further which is often a bad idea. don't you that's a big part of it that men just lack the emotional intelligence to separate the friend zone from wanting more? >> right. research does show that men are more attracted to their female friends than vice versa. it is just part of the evolutionary theory men are always going to cast a wider met and they are going to ignore signs that this woman does not want me sexually because it just -- behooves them to go for it even when the signs that are flashing no, no. that explains that. again, i think if friends are clear about what they want and let each other down easily, and -- then they definitely can move past that awkward moment. a lot of research shows that friends who have that talk and get past the awkward moment, they do so mostly because people are clear and don't dangle false hopes such as saying i have a boyfriend now but we will see

what happens. >> there is an interaction here between the broad trends you are talking about and the article covers. and some of the gender norms we have. there are norms around there are norms around men more often being expected to initiate or approach women. how does that intersect with some of the findings in the article that men have much less of a sense of when someone is attracted to them when it's mutual? >> right. i think all of these definitions are so amorphous. a lot of friends sleep together and they end up being friends. we stay friends with exes. >> i thought the idea was the friends were not sexually intimate. >> right. they might not be sexually intimate at all times, but you can't say it's not a friendship

if there was sex or there will be sex someday. but as far as men approaching women, i think they might approach it as a date but it ends up a friendship. it helps us understand each other and how the other gender thinks and that helps us in our romantic relationships. if you're dating someone who doesn't have friends of the opposite sex, that could be of concern. they don't have some sensitivity to the way the other gender things. >> when you're single, you can take the risk that the friendship develops from the this to the that. when you're married, if you are wanting to have an exclusive relationship, you're maybe not as open to taking those sorts of risks. the other thing that struck me here is it seems like a uniquely american question to have. we have this can men and women

really be just friends? we have this society where women and men interact freely and there aren't strict religious and sexual norms taboos. in france, there seems to be a much looser and more fluid concept of what these relationships can be and look like. >> right. those definitions are breaking down more and more. friends are so beneficial to our mental and physical health. it is not smart to eliminate 50% of the potential friend pool because they're of the opposite gender. up next, what may be torrey's

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envelope number one, i will divine the answer to the question. i've not seen the question. it's inside here. bob and carol and ted and alice. list all the names of the people who voted for president carter. >> ladies and gentlemen, tori has stepped aside to make room for a special guest who will perform an amazing feat.

>> a thousand blessings on your household. >> i hold these envelopes. you and your mystical way will ascertain the answers without having seen the questions. >> i will if we have any time left. >> number one. >> john mayer. who's the only mayor in new jersey who hasn't felt the wrath of chris christie? >> all right. next one up. >> what does anthony weiner now say now that he has snap chat? >> next one. >> spam and rob. name two things that can stay in the can for years. >> next up.

>> louis vitton heels and purse and raincoat. what's enough to win bob mcdonnell's loyalty but not enough to win kim kardashian's love? >> next one. >> lindsey vonn. >> who is the only one who can go downhill faster than chris christie? >> super pac funds, that leads to the -- there are surely some people of character in politics, but there are many who are too easily swayed by temptation.

politics attracts many of the wrong sort of people. for a generation of idealistic and principaled young americans to serve, politics will attract people on the make whose only principal is to take care of one. thus, the unending chase for money is the sort of person who is successful in politics today is not always a great person of character. why are there so many bad apples in politics? it's not funny and it's not supposed to be. sometimes i have to laugh to keep from crying. the coolest host in the biz, the answer alex wagner. one of us is wearing an

ostrich plume on his head. that's a segment you should do every friday. all right. moving along, the republican party is trying to put a positive spin on 2013. the only thing getting in the way of that, the republican party. it's friday, january 24th, and this is "now." >> uncle sugar. >> thank god for uncle sugar. >> we must be very conscious of tone. >> and choice of words. >> women can't control their libedo. >> if we want to win elections, we need to start delivering women's votes. >> the comments were inappropriate. >>